Do you know who Freddie Frinton was? Or May Warden? Nope. Don’t feel so bad. If English is your native language and you live in the US or the UK, then you’re not alone. But a German would likely know the names, or surely at least know their most famous characters.

Mr. Frinton and Ms. Warden, who died in 1968 and 1978 respectively, truly would have been forgotten were it not for their roles in a short, slapstick comedy called “Dinner for One” that almost inexplicably is a staple of German television on New Year’s Eve. Versions of it are also shown near the end of the year in other northern European countries.

The sketch, also called “The Ninetieth Birthday,” profiles the elderly Miss Sophie, a seeming scion of the English aristocracy as she celebrates her 90th birthday with four friends and her butler James. The odd thing though is that her friends are all long since dead. Read More »

Emmelie de Forest, the Danish 20-year-old who dominated the 2013 Eurovision contest, has suspended her first official tour in a sign she’s having a hard time finding mega-star status after her convincing victory in the wildly popular song contest.

The singer won big acclaim for her performance of “Only Teardrops” at the 2013 Eurovision, which Sweden hosted in May. But in a Facebook published last week, she said her upcoming tour of Denmark and Germany is postponed.

“It is with my deepest regret that I have postpone my tour in Germany and Denmark,” she wrote. Although she was “really looking forward to getting out and perform” she is a “perfectionist and whatever I do, it has to be done 100%.”

She said her hectic schedule makes it impossible to prepare a proper tour.

Anders Fredslund-Hansen, de Forest’s manager, confirmed the delay in an interview with Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, and also said that because venues did not sell out the tour was put on the backburner.

“It did not totally go as expected.” de Forest had been slated to play a number of smaller venues on the tour. When contacted, Fredslund-Hansen declined to elaborate.

The performer, however, has kept busy playing a number of local events and festivals, including Swedish Princess Victoria’s birthday party over the summer. Read More »

German studies professor and Internet star are two careers that rarely go together. But Eric Jarosinski has found the way. By day he teaches classes on Marx to business students at the University of Pennsylvania. When he isn’t in the classroom, he morphs into his Doppelgänger, Twitter personality @NeinQuarterly.

“Thank Susan It’s Sontag,” tweets his character, who has a sidekick cat named Herr Ball. Long-dead German thinkers show up in his stream on a daily basis, as does his fondness for the umlaut, and jokes poking fun at German language and stereotypes. Read More »

Okta Logue makes quite an introduction on “Transit,” the band’s U.S. debut, premiering today in its entirety on Speakeasy. The German rockers devote more than half the running time to one 20-minute song, “Decay.” The tune unfolds slowly, transitioning from dirge-like horns in the intro to swirls of piano, wah-wah guitar, organ and vocals. There’s an electronic section in the middle that gives way to an atmospheric deconstruction marked by clattering noise that shifts into a soaring rock sound reminiscent of mid ’70s Pink Floyd.

If that’s all too much, the next track is a remix that boils the song down to four minutes of jumpy electro-clash. Throughout “Transit,” Okta Logue never lingers too long in any one style, digging into proggy guitars and organ on the title track, a vintage rock ’n’ roll sound on “Let Go” and a somber, soulful blues sound on “Bright Lights.”

The songs on “Transit” come from the foursome’s 2011 album “Ballads of a Burden” and their coming second album, “Tales of Transit City,” which is due later this month in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. For now, American listeners will have to make due with “Transit,” which comes out May 14 on Columbia.

The late-season snowstorm that is blanketing much of Europe has caused a range of travel disruptions from the closing of airports and rail lines to miles-long traffic jams.

According to numerous reports, rapidly accumulating snow stranded drivers in many areas and effectively turned stretches of highway into parking lots. The storm affected France, Germany, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands. But its lessons for drivers in emergency preparedness are useful for anyone who drives in regions where snow falls.

Drivers are often stranded in snow not because their cars get stuck or break down, but because they are hemmed in by other disabled vehicles or trapped by traffic jams on highways with no paths of escape. If this happens and you aren’t within short walking distance of a travel plaza or other shelter, the car becomes your residence.

FRANKFURT – Christoph Waltz’s second Academy Award has once again launched a very serious debate in Europe – is he Austrian or German?

Both nations have laid claim to the 56-year-old actor, who won best supporting actor Oscars for his portrayals of a Nazi soldier in “Inglourious Basterds,” as well as a German bounty hunter in “Django Unchained.”

The debate concerning Mr. Waltz stems from a long, contentious history in which Austria and Germany argue over which famous German-speaking figures belong to which country, the borders of which have historically often been blurred. For example, Austria tries to lay claim to Ludwig van Beethoven – born in Bonn, Germany, but who arguably came into musical greatness in Austria. Germans cling to the fact that Adolf Hitler was Austrian. Read More »

Two weeks ago, actress and singer Patti LuPone grabbed a cell phone out of the hand of an audience member who was texting during a performance of her current play, "Shows for Days." The bold move led to an outpouring of support from fans fed up with glowing screens. Ms. LuPone gives us her five rules of theater etiquette.